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It’s worth mentioning thatAvowed is an entirely classless RPG, and that’s 100% by design.
Obsidian planned for this progression of appreciation, though.
“We took a risk with how we wanted to market,” Hansen told me.
Avowed is uniquely colorful, with absolutely spectacular environmental design that truly brings Eora to life.
“It’s an interesting place to play within, is vibrant fantasy.
Melee combat could still use some improvements in Avowed, but that doesn’t stop it from being fun.
I truly believe Obsidian is succeeding.
The wash of clashing colors is beautiful, and it’s thorough, too.
“There have been some gasps and some people going, ‘Oh, dang!’
You can still find cracks if you look for them, but Avowed is certainly a looker now.
Speaking of the combat, how does Avowed feel toplay?
Being able to independently use each hand to wield whatever weapon you want is awesome.
I only got to see a handful of combinations, but the possibilities are intriguing.
This is a screenshot of a compressed copy of the blood mage preview from Gamescom 2024, but you can still see a lot of the detail in this underwater environment.
I also love the ability to instantly switch between two weapon loadouts at any point.
For a mage, that might mean two different grimoires with unique specialties.
For a ranger, that might mean switching to dual short swords in close combat.
A screenshot of a compressed preview video doesn’t capture how fun Avowed is to play, although I do think there’s still room for the combat to improve.
It could mean anything to anyone, like switching between a defensive shield-and-wand combo and a massive two-handed battleaxe.
Avowed even has various puzzles hidden throughout areas, giving you access to powerful loot or useful knowledge.
“You have to pick up all the constituent pieces and then piece that together.
This screenshot of the compressed Avowed “blood mage” preview video from Gamescom 2024 shows off the ability wheel.
Yan did that and was like, ‘I have something that’s really fun.
Y’all want to try this?'”
Obsidian assured me this isn’t the case.
I did not run into any of these creepy critters during my Avowed demo.
Even Warden and Hansen couldn’t tell me the limits of Avowed’s character-building systems.
Let’s keep it.”
So, a lot of that stuff is hard to pin down at the moment.”
My blood mage abilities had no issue making short work of this powerful (sometimes) foe.
“The console is running [Avowed] really, really well,” Hansen continued.
“We haven’t had to have that many specific affordances for Xbox.
and ‘Is it fun?'”
With a grimoire in one hand and a sword in the other, the blood mage build is well equipped to wreak havoc.
One area where Obsidian had no issue elaborating was withaccessibility.
It’s part of why I love Xbox, as the company puts accessibility front and center.
In fact,Xbox just recently announced a new accessibility-focused Xbox nunchuck-style joystick and 3D-printed joystick caps.
This new trinket in this preview video screenshot isn’t revolutionary, but it does hint at how one new piece of gear can change your entire build.
“One of the biggest accessibility features that we have is third-person [perspective].
Of course, there was never any doubt.
“We were keeping [third-person perspective] in our back pocket,” Hansen admitted.
Avowed honestly looks spectacular, and I don’t care that it’s not a photorealistic technical showcase.
“[Third-person] was one of the first decisions we made on the project.”
2: Heart of Chornobyl, andIndiana Jones and the Great Circleall occupying the same time frame.
Out of curiosity, I asked Obsidian if this wasreallythe main reason Avowed was delayed.
Avowed’s tone is very different from the debut teaser trailer, but I actually prefer this.
Video game development is complicated, and every project comes with inherent compromise.
It means better accessibility, more refinement, and fewer trade-offs.
“It’s not just about bugs,” Hansen told me.
I really like Avowed’s interface and how it matches the overall art design, which you can see in this screenshot of the blood mage preview video from Gamescom 2024.
Let’s do the original vision we had.'”
Avowed isn’t just getting a little extra time, either.
), but it made me want to play the game even more.
Knowledge about bugs and the time and resources to fix them are separate. Fortunately, Obsidian now has all of it.
Now that I have, I can’t say that yearning has abated in the slightest.
Avowed is about player freedom, exploring the sandbox, and immersing yourself in an unapologetically fantastical world.
I only got a hint in my demo, and it wasn’t enough to truly sell me.
Come February, Avowed’s gameplay and combat may be even better than what you see in this blood mage preview video screenshot.
Still, Avowed has every chance to become one of thebest Xbox gamesof… well, next year.
Obsidian gets more time to make Avowed even better, and that’s nothing but good news for us.
I’m so ridiculously excited to dive back into Eora.
